Author Leslie Morgan Steiner to speak at Center for Women in Transition 'Reach for the Stars!' gala

Tuesday

Mar 25, 2014 at 12:00 PM

By Peg.McNichol@hollandsentinel.com(616) 546-4269

Leslie Morgan Steiner's 2012 TEDx talk on why battered women don't leave their abusers caused a woman to rush to the restroom and vomit."It was in her family," Steiner said in a phone interview with the Sentinel. Since writing her best-selling 2010 memoir, "Crazy Love," on the experience, Steiner averages five public appearances a year on the subject. She will speak at Center for Women in Transition's "Reach for the Stars!" fundraising gala next month.Domestic abuse, she said, thrives on silence and shame."I'm not ashamed of what happened to me, so I can speak in a way that is really candid and doesn't make people uncomfortable," she said.Being part of the domestic violence community is "incredible," said Steiner, 49, adding that people working in the domestic violence field "are some of the best people I have ever known."The feeling appears to be mutual. CWIT's Charisse Mitchell said Steiner's story of surviving her terrifying first marriage and building a safe and successful life is perfect for CWIT's major annual fundraiser."People need to know what survivors go through in their lives when they are on a healing journey," she said.Steiner said during one beating she saw clearly she was choosing between love for her then-husband and her life."My ex-husband was 49 percent a great person, and our relationship was 49 percent perfect," she said. In the 20 years since, she has remarried, is a mom to three teens and has produced two other books, on surrogacy ("The Baby Chase") and women's life choices ("Mommy Wars"). Steiner currently writes a column for mommytracked.com.She'd like to see more focus on the psychology and behavior of domestic violence perpetrators."Not enough people ask 'God, why is he beating somebody who loves him so much?'" she said.— Follow this reporter on Facebook and Twitter, @SentinelPeg.